by Camilla Persson

Created on: February 06, 2009   Last Updated: February 20, 2009

Africa is a continent with a rich heritage when it comes to music. Their traditional music and dance is very much alive, and their native instruments play a huge part in this. Through generations these instruments have been played and enjoyed. Nowadays they don't just play a part in traditional African culture, but are finding their way to other continents too. Tourists visiting Africa often bring back these beautiful instruments, and their sound and melodies resonates with African tunes long after they gone back home.

There are a variety of African instruments and these are just a few of them. Often the different tribes have their own traditional instruments and there are many versions of them throughout the continent.

1. The African Lute; a lute is a plucked string instrument with a neck and a round back, mainly made of wood. There are many different plucked lutes in Africa and the one that most resembles the banjo is the Jola Akonting. It is played in many of the West African countries. There are lutes that sound a lot more like harps or flamenco guitars, the Kora being the best example. This one is also a West African instrument and has 21 strings, quite unlike the Akonting, who has 5.

2. The African Drums; like the lute there is a range of different kinds of drums. The Djembe drum is the most popular drum in West Africa. It has a wide range of tones that comes from the thin goat skin, the shape of the drum and the way it is tuned. It is a hand drum and should be played with bare hands. In North Africa you often see the Doumbek Drums. It is a goblet style drum and it has a very clear high and low sound. This makes it great for belly dancing. In contrast to the hand drums there are also various kinds of armpit drums. This is a drum that you hold under your armpit whilst playing.

3. The African Marimbas; this is an instrument that developed from the African wooden Xylophones. The origin of the instrument is debated, but there is evidence that it has developed from local instruments in for example Ghana and Western Africa. The Marimbas are very popular in Southern Africa and usually used as part of an ensemble. It is part of the percussion family and the layout is like that of a piano.

There are naturally many other traditional instruments in a vast continent like Africa. Many of them are made out of wood or animal parts. The Ivory horn is an example of the latter. It is a wind instrument made of an elephant tusk. This horn is often used for hunting. Pan pipes are also very popular and different tribes and regions have their own example. From Mozambique come the Nyanga pan pipes which are a prime example of this instrument. There are Kalimbas, Akadindas and Balafones and all of them unique in their own way

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